Remnants of Magi -A Final Fantasy VI Novelization-
by CheeZFingerSlim
Summary: Long ago, a war raged and the world burned in it's wake. Now history threatens to repeat itself as an Empire attempts to reawaken magic that was lost and use it to claim the world as it's own. However, there are those that stand against this threat. A mysterious girl seems to be the key to turning the tide of this battle, but just who is she and can her powers truly save the world?


**Author's Note:** Howdy everyone! Welcome to The Remnants of Magi, otherwise known as the Novelization of Final Fantasy VI.

Final Fantasy VI is my favorite one in the series, with VIII being a very close second. Anyways, lately I have felt the very strong desire to write out my own novelization to this game and so I have decided to attempt this miraculous feat. While I am aware there is already one on this site and I have read only a couple of chapters of it (I don't want to subconsciously take ideas from her story or be accused from stealing from her, so I probably won't finish it until I finish my own), I feel like writing my own out with a different approach. I'm going for a great deal of realism with this novelization so many things will probably be altered in some way to better fit a more realistic spin on the story.

I'm taking quite a few liberties with the story for the sake of my approach. A game is very difficult to translate into a written story in it's raw form, so taking liberty with everything is a necessity.

Due to my own preferences, I'm going to be using both the original SNES translation script and the new GBA script and you will probably see lines from both versions depending on what feels more natural or what I just prefer myself. I'm also taking it upon myself to alter or add onto those lines if need-be, but will do my absolute best to keep them as original as possible. Additionally I'll be adding scenes and dialogue in hopes to further character interactions and strengthen relationships. There will probably be bonus chapters tossed in that are strictly these kinds of things unless I get enough negative feedback on them then I'll most likely cut them out. This also means that things you normally can't do in-game (i.e. seeing Relm's dream that connects her to Shadow in the World of Ruin when you waited behind for Shadow on the Floating Continent) will most likely be done here just for the sake of doing it.

As of this writing I have quite a lot of free time on my hands and I'm hoping to release a chapter every week, but at the very least I plan on releasing one once every two weeks. I can be quite a lazy, procrastinating bastard, so I apologize in advance if my schedule slips. I would really, _really_ appreciate reviews, critiques and comments of any kind, even if all you're saying is a simple, "Wow, good job!" as it does help motivate me to keep going if people really do like the story and what I'm doing with it.

Anyways, without further ado, I present to you my take on the Novelization of Final Fantasy VI. Hope you enjoy it!

**Update - 11/14/13:** Fixed some spelling and grammar issues.

* * *

It sure was damned cold in this part of the world.

"There's the town!" Wedge yelled out to them over the sounds of wind and machinery.

Biggs followed his partner's hand and smiled when he saw where he was pointing at. His lifelong friend was right; now within sight through the glistening falling snow was the town of Narshe. Their goal was finally within reach and soon they could leave this godforsaken frozen wasteland of a place. Biggs sniffled, not suited to this type of weather. He used a combination of pedals and levers to propel his Magitek Armor forward faster through the thick blanket of snow that covered the ground as far as the eye could see.

Narshe was a not-so-tiny coal mining town located in the nearly impassable northern mountains. They were a neutral location who did their absolute best not to get involved with either the Empire or those rotten rebels who called themselves Returners. Between the dangerously icy terrain, the out-of-the-way location, the huge monsters that roamed these ranges whom could easily maul or maim a man to death, and the fact that Narshe had very little to offer the Empire, the town was mostly left alone. As far as Biggs was concerned, it was a good thing. He hated being here and he would have felt sorry for anyone stationed here.

Unfortunately for everyone about to be involved in tonight's investigation, there were rumors flying around that these measly miners had unearthed a frozen Esper. Due to the neutral stance and all those other neat little factors, there was no Empire presence in the town so there was no way to confirm these rumors.

This is where Biggs and Wedge came in.

They weren't anything particularly special, just a couple of Corporals who happened to be stationed nearby. But they were a few of the only ones trained to use Magitek Armor and that was, as far as Biggs could tell, the only reason that two soldiers such as themselves had been sent on a mission like this. Biggs especially, having a keen eye for anything that may earn him a promotion, dedicated a lot of time studying. Wedge, on the other hand, was more of a brute than a tactician; he was ten times the fighter Biggs could ever hope to be. Alone they were mediocre at best, but together they were quite a team. It had always been that way, ever since they were children.

Biggs shivered as a powerful gust of wind rolled over him, chilling him despite the extra layers of clothing he had thrown on. Magitek Armor was a fantastic weapon, but right now he really wished they had invested in some kind of protective covering for the pilot. He understood why it lacked one. It could very well serve to limit mobility and agility, but couldn't the damn engineers have spared it for this particular model? Trying to get his mind off of the cold weather, he shifted the machine and sidestepped his way closer to Wedge.

"Hard to believe an Esper's been found frozen there a thousand years after the War of the Magi." Biggs said loudly, hoping to spark any kind of conversation.

"Bah!" Wedge grunted in his low, loud voice. He replied, "Probably just another wild goose chase!"

"I don't know." Biggs shook his head. "They wouldn't have let us use her unless were confident that the information was good."

Both men glanced over at their unusual companion who wore a vacant expression on her face. She was a tiny little thing. Pretty too, with a pale complexition and curly, mint green hair that was tied back into a pony tail. Her eyes were gray, but had just the faintest hint of blue. She hardly fit the appearance that came to mind given her disturbing reputation. It only served to amplify how scary she was, though. After all, who would expect a darling like her to be such a monster? Unlike Biggs and Wedge, the girl wore only a single layer of clothing with one thick coat over that, but didn't seemed to be at all phased by the harsh winds or falling snow that came so endlessly. She didn't shiver nor complain. It was just so... unsettling.

That was another reason that Biggs suspected he and Wedge had been sent on this mission. They were high-ranked enough that they were considered competent to handle this kind of assignment effectively, but also low-ranked enough that they wouldn't be too terribly missed in case this girl went rampant. Hopefully that Slave Crown atop her head did its job and robbed the poor girl of all conscious thought just as Kefka had told them it would. The silver band stuck out against her minty green hair. Biggs bit his lip, swallowing back a bit of pity for the poor thing. There was no room for that here.

"Ah, yes." Wedge said. "Our sorceress." He paused, frowning. Speaking as lowly as he could in these conditions, to avoid insulting the girl (though, Biggs had his doubts that was possible), Wedge continued, "You sure she's safe? I hear she fried fifty of our Magitek armored men in under three minutes! Kinda makes your skin crawl, don't it?"

"Relax." Biggs assured his dear friend and dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "With that thing on her head, she's a mindless puppet. She won't even breathe unless we tell her too."

Despite the confidence in his words, Biggs felt extremely uneasy.

"If you say so..." Wedge either sensed Biggs's own unease or just didn't believe him.

"You worry too much." Biggs teased. "Besides, even if she does act up, we can high-tail it out of here. Our armor is much lighter than hers, after all."

"Mm," Wedge stared at the girl then looked back at Biggs. "Yeah, but she's got all that extra equipment on her armor."

"Only to compensate for the slowness." Biggs informed him. "Either way, she only did it because that freak Kefka forced her to so he could test out how effective that Slave Crown would be."

Wedge shuddered and made a disgusted face. "I hate that guy!"

"Tell me about it." Biggs sighed. "I wish we'd been placed under either General Leo or Celes."

Wedge grinned then declared, "I'd give my right arm to serve under General Celes! She's one fine lookin' gal."

Biggs snorted. Wedge always had had a soft spot for the blonde ones, didn't he? Biggs was more inclined toward redheads himself.

"Oi, we're almost there." Wedge said suddenly and straightened up. Raising his voice so that the girl could hear him, he bellowed out, "We'll approach from the east! Girl, you take point!"

Biggs arched an eyebrow at Wedge's second command. Then he asked, "Why're you putting her on point?"

"No sense in putting ourselves in more risk than we need to." Wedge replied and shrugged. "Don't tell me ya've got a thing for the little mime, eh?!"

Even in the chilled air, Biggs's cheeks managed to find warmth as blood rushed to them. "Absolutely not!" He snapped. Growling, he then yanked on the levers and stomped on the pedals.

"Forward! Don't waste time on the riffraff, push through them!" He shouted. "Remember what we're here for! Let's move out!"

Finally the trio reached the east side of Narshe. As instructed, the girl walked ahead while Biggs and Wedge followed close behind. Immediately a bell rang somewhere in the distance, barely audible to the two soldiers. A handful of guards appeared in front of them, with what appeared to be iron axes and swords with simple round shields for protection. A pitiful defense against the powerful Magitek Armor each of the three Imperial soldiers was operating.

"Imperial Magitek Armor?!" One of the guards shouted followed by, "Not even Narshe is safe anymore!"

The guards charged forward, weapons raised. Biggs tensed and was prepared to move, but the girl in front of them did just as she had been instructed. With expert grace, the right arm of her armor shot out and the claws on front slammed into the head of the closest charging man. He didn't even let out a yelp as his body crumbled into the snow, red slowly staining the white around his fractured skull. This warning didn't sway the guards who continued to run forward.

The left arm swung in a wide arc, scooping up another man and slamming him into the wall of a building, crushing him between steel and stone. The other guards took this opportunity to get closer and try to attack, but the girl reacted quickly. She stabbed a button on her console with her thumb and the plating covering the eye in the center of the armor's chest slid open. There was a whirring noise and it began to glow red. A second later an orange beam shot out of the lens and punched the closest man in the chest, who burst into flames on impact. He cried out in agony and fell into the snow.

"Retreat!" One of the remaining two guards cried and the other apparently had no objections. Both men scrambled away.

"This Magitek Armor sure is somethin', ain't it?!" Wedge said with a laugh. "And that girl's a natural!"

"It is impressive." Biggs replied simply.

The soldiers and their machines marched forward, but they didn't make it very far before two more guards appeared, this time with friends. The Silver Lobo was one of the infamous monsters that made even the Empire wary about setting up patrols here. It was a wolf, but it stood almost as tall as a Chocobo and had thick, black and silver fur, hence it's name. The two Silver Lobos snarled menacingly and Biggs was astounded that the guards of Narshe had managed to tame some of them.

"The Empire's got no business here!" One of the guards screamed and then they released the hounds.

"I got these ones!" Wedge declared and pulled his armor forward.

Ordinarily Biggs would have been worried for Wedge's safety, but these Magitek Armors had already proven to be brilliant weapons. The first Lobo charged, but Wedge jerked the levers and stamped on the pedals. The metal's weight shifted and Wedge lifted it's leg, delivering a swift and powerful kick to the Lobo's front end. Bones crunched and it yelped as it was easily knocked aside. The second Lobo learned from the first's mistake and leaped through the air, attempting to jump on top of the armor. Biggs instinctively reached out to the control panel.

Wedge, however, brought both arms of the machine up and jabbed. Metal claws pierced through the Lobo's throat and abdomen as Wedge caught it in mid-air. It thrashed wildly, alive despite it's injury, yelping and crying. Wedge merely laughed and brought the arms around, slinging the creature off and sending it flying into the stone wall beside them. Biggs rolled his eyes. That figured; all the fancy equipment and magic-powered weaponry at his disposal and all Wedge could think about was meleeing things to death.

Biggs decided to dispose of the two guards who ran forward, slapping a yellow button on his console after targeting them. Two yellow beams were fired in rapid succession, hitting the guards with an tremendously high amount of electricity that sent their charred bodies convulsing as they fell.

Many guards came, but all of them failed. Even a rather large group who cornered them with a pair of Megalodoths - giant elephant-like creatures with large tusks who usually gorged humans to death on sight - on one side fell in less than two minutes from a combination of magic beams, claws and Magitek missiles, a nifty little weapon with which only the girl's armor had. In less than ten minutes, Biggs, Wedge and the girl had torn through Narshe's defenses and made their way into the mines. A gate blocked their path, but Biggs took a very Wedge-like approach to the situation and easily knocked it down. The air felt different here; something was definitely here. Maybe those rumors were true after all...

"We won't hand over the Esper!" A surviving guard shouted. He was injured, his arm bloody and mangled and the front of his clothes were stained red. He was alive, but just barely. Using his good arm, he pulled a switch embedded in the rock wall.

A large section of the wall slid apart and something made a very disgusting, high-pitched noise. The guard screamed, "Ymir! Get them!" before slumping against the wall and finally dying.

What came slithering out of the hole in the wall was unexpected; it was... a giant snail? It had a bright purple shell covered in long, sharp spikes and it's skin - was it really called skin, Biggs wondered - was a sickly yellow color. Two pupil-less eyes sat on the front of its face and four feelers wiggled about on it's head, two on the top and two on what Biggs assumed was it's chin.

"Ha! A freakin' snail?!" Wedge stepped forward. "Don't worry, I'll take care of this! You two go and make that Esper's still alive!"

"Hold it!" Biggs shouted. "This thing's a...! They must have trained it to defend the mines!"

"Huh?" Wedge glanced back. "What're you talking about? You know what that thing is?"

_Unlike you, I do a lot of reading._ Biggs didn't say. Instead, he explained, "Ever heard of a lightning whelk? It's a monster that absorbs lightning-"

"...and stores it in it's shell!" Wedge finished, surprising Biggs.

"Right." Biggs said, smiling. "Whatever you do, don't use your lightning beam!"

"Got it!"

The girl merely nodded her head as confirmation and awaited further orders. Wedge charged again, apparently his plan hadn't been disrupted at all. When he got within range, he swung the right arm forward, swiping at the whelk's head with the armor's claws. In the blink of an eye, the whelk's head sucked back in and vanished. The claws of Wedge's armor smashed into the shell and snapped off. Biggs's eyes widened in realization that that shell was much more durable than even the Magitek's steel.

"Wedge, get back! Stick to fire and ice beams!" Biggs warned.

Before Wedge could react, the whelk's head reappeared and slithered the spineless length of it's neck along the metal arm of the armor. It made a hissing noise and the spikes on it's shell lit up, crackling with electrical energy.

_Shit! It's absorbing the electrical power in the armor!_

"Girl! Hit it with a missile now!" Biggs ordered then shouted to Wedge, "Get down!"

The girl acted without hesitation. Her hand moved across the panel in front of her and once against the chest piece opened up. The whelk, sensing the danger, released the arm and retracted into it's shell. Two missiles shot forward, crossing the distance from her to the whelk quickly. Wedge barely had any time to reel back and bring the arms of his Magitek Armor up to block the force of the explosion.

Biggs watched in horror as the whelk's shell appeared from the smoke of the devastating attack, looking no worse for wear.

"No wonder they chose this thing as the guardian..." Biggs mumbled to himself. _If its shell is strong enough to shrug off even the Magitek Missiles, then it can sure as hell defend against our little beams. We certainly didn't anticipate this kind of resistance. If I don't think of something soon, we'll have to retreat..._

The worse was yet to come. Once the danger had cleared, the whelk's head reappeared and it focused it's attention on what it perceived as it's biggest threat; the girl. The electrical energy it had absorbed from Wedge's armor crackled as it prepared to attack. Biggs acted quickly and pounded his fist on the blue button, shooting at the whelk with an ice beam. It hissed and retreated into it's shell once more, avoiding the attack. It had no effect outside of coating the shell with a thin layer of ice, but that didn't matter; Biggs was just trying to buy some time. Following Biggs's lead, Wedge shot off a fire beam almost immediately after. The heated beam smashed into the shell and did no damage, but the shell whitened a bit as it heated up. From within the shell, the whelk made an annoyed, hissing sound.

That's when the answer came to him.

"If technology isn't enough, we'll just have to use good old fashioned physics..." Biggs said with a grin, then barked out commands quickly. "Wedge, hit it with another fire beam on my command! Girl, when I tell you, shoot your remaining Magitek Missiles at the ceiling above it!" It might have been easier just to shoot at the whelk itself, but they couldn't risk it not working again when this was their last shot.

"Got'cha Biggs! Just gimme the word!" Wedge shouted back.

"Fire on three! One... two..." In perfect synchronization, Biggs and Wedge hit their control panels. "Three!"

Two red beams struck the lightning whelk's shell at the same time, heating the shell up enough that the whelk let out an agonizing hiss. It slithered out of it's shell and again electricity crackled around it's shell spines.

"Girl, now!"

The girl followed her orders and two long rods of explosive power shot out of the armor and crashed into the cave ceiling above the whelk. The rocks cracked and crumbled, giving way as the force of the explosion shook them loose. Gravity did the rest and dragged huge rocks downwards, right on top of the whelk which hissed miserably. It had nowhere to go now that it's shell was far too hot to retreat into. Soon, the whelk was crushed and buried beneath the rocks, finally defeated.

"Phew..." Wedge laughed and pushed his brown helmet up so he could wipe sweat from his forehead. "That was a close one! Nice thinking, Biggs!"

Biggs shrugged nonchalantly, but answered proudly, "You're the brawn's and I'm the brains, we're the perfect duo."

Wedge grinned widely. "Damn right!"

"We can celebrate later. Right now we have that Esper to attend to."

"Right!"

The trio continued their mission and walked forward, past the pile of rocks they had created, and deeper into the mine. The hair on the back of Biggs's neck stood on end when they entered this room; Wedge became tense as his stomach rolls. The energy was weird. It was powerful, but tamed. It was both soothing and uneasy. It was unlike anything Biggs or Wedge had ever felt. And seeing this Esper up close was even more startling.

It was large, whatever it was, and it was completely encased in a jagged shard of ice. A combination of red, green and yellow colors made up it's body which appeared to be avian in shape, but thanks to the several inches of thick white-blue ice coating it's body, it's appearance was heavily distorted and it was difficult to tell what it really was. They might have been worried about it breaking out, but with the temperature in this cave so chilled, it was highly unlikely that would happen.

"So... this is the frozen Esper?" Biggs pondered aloud.

As they drew closer, the room of the cave was suddenly bathed in a dull blue light. It flashed twice, as if whatever was powering it was unstable, and then it steadied and continued to glow. Everything was covered with a blue tint now. Biggs shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"This thing's givin' me the creeps..." Wedge mumbled and Biggs was glad he wasn't the only one.

_Something's not right._ Biggs thought to himself.

The creature began emitting an eerie blue light. It was different from the blue glow, this one felt powerful. Biggs's skin tingled as the light engulfed him.

"Wh-where's that light coming from?!" Wedge stuttered and suddenly he screamed, "Ahhh!"

The glow around Wedge suddenly became brighter, more intense. Biggs squinted but painfully kept eye contact. What happened next was just unbelievable; right before Biggs's eyes, Wedge and his armor vanished, blinking into nothingness. It was as though an artist had made mistake and simply erased him from existence.

"Hey!" Biggs shouted. He stood up in his armor and looked around, alarmed. "Wedge... where are you?"

The tingling on his skin suddenly turned to burning. Biggs cringed and fell back into his seat as the burning sensation rapidly intensified. "W... what's happening!?" It felt so horrible. Like not only his skin was on fire, but every fiber of his body, down to the smallest cell and even his essence itself. Whatever was causing this wanted him to suffer horribly. Biggs opened his mouth to let out a scream, but he couldn't tell if he was making any sound, the ringing in his ears was too loud. Everything began to turn white.

And then there was nothing.

* * *

Now only the girl remained in the cave.

This is exactly what Valigarmanda had wanted. Now that it had eliminated those two humans and their disgusting mockery of magical creatures they had been riding, it could communicate with the girl.

While being unable to move for one thousand years was a horrifying thing, the thought that the War of Magi was still raging might have been even worse. Just who were those two men and what had they wanted? Whatever monstrosities they had been riding were something Valigarmanda had never encountered before and it wondered how well it's brethren might be faring against those mechanical creatures. Right now none of that mattered. All this time, Valigarmanda had spent wishing and hoping, praying even, to anyone who might be listening that someone would come and find it. If it could only get free, it could know what was going on. Now, it seemed, its wish had been granted. It reached out to the girl in front of it, attempting to connect its mind with hers.

_Girl._ It said. _Girl. Can you hear me?_

The girl didn't respond. She simply stared vacantly, as if she hadn't heard anything at all. Still, she came closer, which meant at least something had gotten through. Irritated, Valigarmanda reached out again.

_Girl!_ It said, more pressingly this time. G_irl, I know that you are not an ordinary human. You are a Magi, correct?_ Swallowing its pride, Valigarmanda continued, _Please. Open your mind and speak with me, you are the only one who can free me from this prison._

Still, the girl did not respond. Her mouth opened, as if she wanted to speak, but it just as quickly closed. At the same time her eyes flickered with curiosity, but the flame was just as soon smothered. It was then that Valigarmanda felt a rippling effect and if it could frown, it would.

_So that is the problem._ It thought, but this time to itself. _Something is suppressing her. Damnation! Fate brings my savior so close to me, yet I can do nothing. What a cruel mistress, you are..._

That machine she was riding. That must be what it was. That thing, whatever it was, must have been what was blocking her mind, Valigarmanda was sure of it. Using what limited energy it could in this state, Valigarmanda focused and suddenly both itself and the girl - and that machine - were bathed in an intense, magical blue light.

_I must destroy it._ Valigarmanda had concluded and destroy it it did.

Powerful bolts of energy rung out from Valigarmanda's frozen form and collided with the machine. The effect was immediate; sparks flew and the machine jerked without its rider's consent before collapsing. The girl suddenly lifted up and off of the machine, but not of Valigarmanda's will. No, the girl was lifting herself up. A cocoon of magical energy surrounded her, protecting her from Valigarmanda's assault and the machine's violent reaction as it exploded, turning it into a fiery pile of scraps.

Valigarmanda watched curiously as the girl slowly lowered herself to the ground, away from the wrecked machine. It could tell that this girl had no idea what she was doing. This magical reaction was simply a self-preservation instinct. She was a Magi, that was for sure, but she was not an ordinary Magi either. Something about this girl was special, Valigarmanda could feel it. It just didn't know what.

As soon as the girl touched down, she collapsed to the ground, unconscious. Valigarmanda would sigh if it could. It appeared it would have to wait until this girl woke up to attempt any more communication. That was just fine. It had waited a millennium already, what was most likely just a few more hours? Patience was a virtue and Valigarmanda had learned that all too well.

An older man appeared. Valigarmanda stared, alarmed, sure that they would attack the girl in her sleeping state. Could it muster up any more power to attack and save perhaps its only hope at sanctuary? No, Valigarmanda could not. It had spent what little power it had access to already. Fortunately, the man seemed concerned. He crouched down and began to check the girl for signs of life. Valigarmanda was relieved that whoever this was, he wasn't going to kill her.

The man picked her up. She was quite tiny, easily fitting in his arms. But then he began to take her away, out of the cave. Valigarmanda watched helpless as it's one and only savior was carried away by a helpful bystander.

_Damnation._ Valigarmanda thought to itself pitifully. _So close to achieving my goal and now my only hope has been taken away once again..._

Still, Valigarmanda remained hopeful. That man was most likely a miner. If it were lucky, he would bring this girl back to the cave when she awoke and Valigarmanda could try again to establish a mental connection. Until then, Valigarmanda could only sit here and wait, wait like it always had, entertaining itself with fantasies of returning home which now, at least, seemed like they could finally be fulfilled.


End file.
